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Photographer Transforms Sick and Disabled Kids into the Justice League

Being a kid is serious business. Childhood is all about discovering the world and the way one fits into it. It’s tough enough for healthy kids, but what about those who suffer from chronic conditions, life-threatening illnesses and disabilities? Photographer Josh Rossi and his wife Roxanne set out to explore what makes such exceptional children tick, and in the process they created a pint-sized Justice League of real-life heroes.

Working with costumer Julie Whiteley — a cancer survivor herself — the Salt Lake City photographer and digital artist assembled a team of children who have spent their young lives facing physical and mental challenges and beating the odds. He then created a series of posters that mirror the ad campaign for the upcoming Justice League movie, creating both solo images and a group shot.

This isn’t the photographer’s first foray into the superhero genre. He made quite a splash in October of last year with a photoshoot featuring his three-year-old daughter Nellee as Wonder Woman.

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Rossi’s Justice League is comprised of five-year-old double amputee Kayden Kinckle as Cyborg; three-year-old Sofie Loftus, who just completed a round of chemotherapy, as Wonder Woman; nine-year-old Teagan Pettit, who has half a heart, as Superman; two-year-old leukemia patient Mataese Manuma as Aquaman; seven-year-old Zaiden Stolrow, who suffers from ADHD and who loves to run, as the Flash; and five-year-old Simon Fullmer, who is afflicted with Neuroblastoma and loves Bruce Wayne “because he’s rich,” as Batman.

A commercial photographer who counts Xerox and Acura among his clients, Rossi not only shared his photographs on fulltimephographer.com, but also uploaded a series of heartwarming videos showing the kids’ reactions when they saw their completed posters for the very first time.